A Casual Arrangement
by SapphireMind
Summary: Scarlett has an arranged marriage? Say it isn't so!
1. Wha hunh?

New story! Woot! Hopefully this one will be fun because I'm pulling out all sorts of different aspects of my life to put into this one. So, leave feedback, let me know what you think and let me know that someone is reading my drivel.

O o o o o o o o o o O  
  
It was time yet again for the annual O'Hara "Halfway to St. Patrick's Day" bash. Hosted at their home in Georgia, the weather was still pleasantly balmy without the heat that the height of summer promised. It was an excuse to get their family and friends together, drink and generally have a good time. Shana, known better as Scarlett to her military cohorts, had missed it for the past three years. This year, she decided to make a concerted effort to make it to the shindig. To make up for her past absences, she intended to drag as many team members as she could with her.  
  
Now life in the military, especially in an elite unit like G.I. Joe, was far from predictable. Leave can be hard to come by and can be cancelled in a heartbeat, but the challenge just made it more fun for her. She had everyone put in for leave, overwhelming the poor personnel clerk and her best friend, Lady Jaye. She couldn't pick and choose which of her comrades should come with her and who would stay behind, so she was essentially letting General Hawk pick. When she had her list of attendees, she informed her father and made travel arrangements, all the while praying that Cobra would stay quiet long enough for her and her friends to enjoy a much needed break.  
  
She was a little surprised at who the General chose to send, but he was the boss and so he must know what he was doing. Beach Head, Duke and Lady Jaye. She was mainly surprised at the decision to send Beach Head and to leave Flint out, but God knew that Beach needed a vacation, so that may have influenced his decision. Flint was not happy with being denied leave, but he and Jaye had been at each others' throats lately and Jaye was enjoying flaunting that she was getting a vacation while he was stuck in charge of the misfits. Flint tried to convince Beach Head to stay back on base in command and allow him to take the empty space, but General Hawk put a rapid stop to it.  
  
So on September 16, the motley crew of Joes boarded a civilian aircraft to fly to Shana's hometown and to meet her family. They had met briefly during the Cobra kidnapping fiasco, but that wasn't really a good time for chit-chat and getting to know one another. Now, not only would they be meeting her father and brothers again, but most of her extended family from this side of the ocean (and a few from the other) converged on Atlanta to tap a keg of Guinness and enjoy some good Jameson's. Then they also included all close family friends and neighbors, so this was a party of epic proportions, that usually involved travelling from home to home. They had heard many stories about it from Shana and seen the pictures she had stashed away of her escapades from her youth.  
  
Duke was nervous; he was a bit uncomfortable meeting Shana's family after what had happened between them. It wasn't something that a girl would tell her family hopefully, but he wasn't sure if he was willing to bet his life on it. He and Shana had smoothed things over nicely after the incident, but he knew he was the bad guy in the situation and four men, very protective of Shana and very skilled in martial arts, being on his case was not his idea of a good time. He wondered why he put in for the leave anyway, he should have stayed back on the base, and maybe Flint would have been able to come instead. He stole a glance over to Jaye and Scarlett, sitting next to each other on the plane. Shana looked over at him and grinned, and he smiled and nodded back before turning away. In truth he said he'd go so she knew he was really ok with everything and wasn't uncomfortable, even if he was.  
  
Beach Head kept a face of stone as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. He hadn't put in for the leave, but Hawk told him he was going anyway. Apparently Psych-Out thought he could use a vacation. He made plans to give Psych-Out a vacation when he got back. Until then, he had to play along and seem like he was enjoying himself. He shuddered a bit at that prospect, but Hawk had been clear that for every report that he heard about the Drill Instructor being a wet blanket or dismal, he would give him an additional week of vacation. A very effective punishment, Beach Head vowed that he would get through this weekend and then get back to his job. He even mustered a smile when Jaye and Scarlett looked at him so no one could complain about his attitude on the flight. He just had to make it through three more days.  
  
Lady Jaye was thankful that Flint had gotten stuck back at base. He had been a royal pain in the ass lately and she was tired of fighting with him. Truth be told, she was beginning to wonder if she should just break off the relationship entirely. When Hawk had been sorting through all the leave requests, she asked him for a favor to not allow Flint to come, which he readily granted. He said Beach Head needed a break and he'd send him along instead. They got a good laugh at that. She couldn't help missing Flint though, much to her dismay. Hopefully a weekend full of handsome young men and alcohol would make her forget her worries.  
  
Scarlett was a nervous wreck. She hadn't actually expected Hawk to grant Duke's leave request; she supposed Jaye had something to do with it. But now she was stuck with bringing him home with her. It was just so awkward a lot of times and she couldn't think of a way to convince him that she was really ok with what happened. She closed her eyes, wishing things weren't so complicated. She tried to focus instead on her family and remember all the family members she would be reuniting with. Trying to remember all the members of her rather large family wasn't an easy task. Her father had three sisters and three brothers. Each had on average two children, some more, and many of those children now had children. Jeannie, married to Lynn, their children Chad and Wendy. Chad's wife Carla, their three children Taylor, Tyler and Toby, Wendy's now ex-husband Joe, their three kids Jade, Seth and Myra. Mary and Joe, at the moment her favorite aunt and uncle, had no children and had never married, except for Mary's long-term non-relationship with a gay man. Patricia and Vern, their children were Tammy, Beth and.... "Shit," she said aloud.  
  
Jaye looked over at her as the plane taxied to a stop, "What's the matter?"  
  
Scarlett chuckled, "Nothing. Just trying to remember all my cousins and failing hopelessly."  
  
"You don't remember all of your cousin's names?" Jaye seemed incredulous.  
  
"Umm, not so much. Large Irish Catholic family. My dad was towards the end of the line, I have cousins that are almost his age. It's pretty much impossible to remember everyone and their relation to me." She grinned, "It used to be a family tradition on the way to holiday meals that we would quiz each other on who would be there and how everyone was related. Bonus points for pets."  
  
Jaye looked at her like she had grown a second head, "That is just bizarre and not normal." Scarlett stared back at her for a second and then they both burst out laughing.  
  
"What's so funny?" Beach Head said gruffly as he reached up to unload bags from the overhead compartment.  
  
"Do you know the names of all your first cousins off the top of your head," Scarlett demanded.  
  
Now it was Beach Head's turn to look at Scarlett like she was crazy, then he thought for a moment, "No. We weren't close with a lot of extended family."  
  
"Thank you!" Scarlett chirped happily, giving Jaye a triumphant look as she walked off the plane.  
  
Duke stepped up beside her as they walked through the terminal to get their bags, "Are we renting a car or being picked up?"  
  
"Picked up I imagine," she said mildly, stopping at the baggage carousel. "Either that or they hired a driver for us."  
  
Everyone gathered their luggage and looked to Scarlett for direction and she shrugged, heading for the area for people waiting for cars or drivers. She didn't get too far though before her eyes opened wide with surprise and she dropped her bags and walked quickly over to a man with sandy brown hair and glasses, much to the surprise of the other Joes.  
  
When she arrived at the man, he quickly swept her up into a bone-crushing hug and twirled her around once, "It is so good to see you Shana. I've missed you, beautiful!"  
  
The other Joes stared at Scarlett for a moment then shifted their gaze to Jaye who held up her hands defensively, "Hey, I don't know who he is either."  
  
"I've missed you too. Did my brothers come with you?" Shana scanned the crowds for their familiar faces. She saw them and then ran over to them, giving them tight hugs as well. "How are you? Being good for dad?"  
  
Brian gave a mock look of hurt, "Us? Misbehave? Never!"  
  
Scarlett rolled her eyes when she heard Jaye clear her throat behind her, bringing her to her senses. "Oh I'm sorry, you guys have met my brothers already, right?" Everyone nodded as Shana slipped her arm around the stranger's body, "This is Patrick."  
  
Patrick held his hand out to shake the Joes' hands politely, "Nice to meet you. So you're the ones keeping her away from me," he smiled as he spoke and slipped an arm around Shana's waist comfortably.  
  
"Is he a cousin?" Jaye wondered aloud.  
  
Brian was quick to answer before Patrick or Shana could, "No! Patrick's her fiancé!" He grinned as Jaye, Duke and Beach Head stared at a blushing Scarlett.


	2. Proof Negative

There was stunned silence before a cacophony of sound erupted.  
  
"You're engaged?!" Jaye cried. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"Congratulations," from Beach Head in a rather solemn tone as he looked to his first sergeant.  
  
Duke, for his part, maintained a rather studious silence for those few moments. Scarlett couldn't help but enjoy the strained calm on his face. She held up a hand and shot a glare to her brother. "Calm down. He's not really my fiancé."  
  
Patrick put on a pouty look, "I'm not? You wound me."  
  
"Patrick, stop," she couldn't help grinning as she said it though, "they don't understand the whole arranged marriage thing -"  
  
Before she could continue, shouts were again pouring forth from her friends. She shot them a glare. "Stop getting your panties in a knot. It's not that big of a deal, guys." She rolled her eyes as she shook her head, apparently her brother and Patrick were immensely enjoying her friends' distress.  
  
"It's not the Middle Ages Shana - you don't have to get married if you don't want to." Duke's voice was quiet and dangerous. She had to admit that she was delighting his discomfort and was touched by his concern that she was being forced into something.  
  
"Since it is obvious now that Brian can't keep his mouth shut, I'll explain quickly so we can get out of the terminal and I can go and take a shower. Patrick's family is very close to mine; we've been friends since we were little. Everyone always expected us to get married, kind of in a sweet, aren't they cute way,"  
  
"And sort of in a pushy, 'why don't you call Shana and invite her to the movies' sort of way." Patrick broke in with a grin.  
  
"So, while they were kind of joking that they expected us to get married, they were kind of not. Patrick and I realized their pressure a long time ago and everyone kind of likes to tease us and say we're engaged." She smirked, "Of course, if you stay single much longer, your mother may bring a shotgun to my house and demand a wedding!" She laughed as she nudged her childhood friend.  
  
He blushed as everyone laughed and put his arm back around Shana, "Why would I get a real girlfriend when my fantasy one is so much better?"  
  
"Ok, if you're done making fun of me, let me introduce everyone. This is Allie, Wayne and Conrad. They all work with me." Everyone shook hands politely, though Conrad's grip on Patrick's hand was especially strong.  
  
The tension was finally broken between the two groups and they gathered their bags and split up into two cars to head to Shana's house. Shana and Allie and Patrick drove in one car; Brian, Conrad and Wayne in the other. Shana leaned her head back against the headrest as they drove away. "I'm going to kill Brian for bringing that up."  
  
Jaye smirked, "You did a fair enough job yourself creating more uproar. Did you see the look on Conrad's face?" The brunette giggled madly.  
  
"Oh yeah," Shana grinned, looking back at her friend. "I wish I had a camera."  
  
"Boyfriend?" Patrick inquired innocently. "Ex-Boyfriend?"  
  
Shana shook her head emphatically, "No, no and no. Never will be boyfriend."  
  
"Really." His tone indicated that he didn't believe her at all.  
  
"Really." Her reply was firm.  
  
"Well, he didn't seem like that to me."  
  
"Patrick Michael Brendan Frances Grady, don't start in on me," she warned. He knew she meant business when she used all of his names. Not even his mom threw in his Confirmation name.  
  
Jaye just laughed at the two of them, "I don't know Shana, I might be inclined to believe Patrick here. He seemed a bit upset about the whole thing."  
  
"And I think he broke a couple of bones in my hand when we shook!" He winked at Jaye through the rearview mirror.  
  
Shana rubbed her eyes, "Guys, stop. Enough for today. Let me at least get showered before you start in on me again, ok?"  
  
Her friends nodded, properly apologetic the rest of the way home.  
  
O o o o o o o o o o o O  
  
Wayne sat in the back with Conrad, leaving Brian in the front. He whispered quietly to his friend trying to not draw attention, "You alright?"  
  
"Why wouldn't I be?" Conrad did his best to sound off-hand.  
  
Wayne arched an eyebrow, "You are a shitty liar when it comes to her, you need to work on that." Conrad gave him a sharp look but he continued, "You aren't fooling anyone you know."  
  
"There's nothing going on between us." Conrad crossed his arms in front of him, unhappy with not only this conversation but the witness driving the car. Wayne opened his mouth to speak again and Conrad glared at him sternly, hissing, "Any more discussions on this matter will be held in private."  
  
Wayne knew when not to push the other man so he backed off and watched the scenery fly by as they neared their destination. "So, you have a lot of family come in? Do they all stay at the house?" The question was clearly directed to Brian.  
  
"Too many people showing up. We get a group rate at a hotel, then if it's warm enough, we can all head over for a dip in the pool." He chuckled as he turned into a driveway.  
  
Shana's house was a beautiful old Georgian style home. There was a tent set up in the back and they could hear music coming from speakers closer to the action. Duke was amazed at the amount of people there. They all seemed to be swirling through the area, going from backyard to backyard. Shana hadn't been exaggerating the size of the party in the least.  
  
"Here we are. Looks like the girls are right behind us, so I'll trust Shana to get you to your rooms. I've got to go grab Da and tell him I'm back. Nice to meet you both!" Brian hurried away from the car in search of his father.  
  
As the girls pulled up, Wayne whispered, "So you have no problems with Patrick?"  
  
Keeping a stony exterior, he said, "Why should I? He seems like a nice person and is a good friend of Shana's." He tried to keep his voice non-committal.  
  
Wayne just shook his head as he went to greet the girls. The man was clueless or as stubborn as the redhead; whichever it was, it was annoying as hell. He sure as hell wasn't going to play therapist and try and pry it out of him. 


	3. Green Eyed Monster

I'm trying to get back into the groove of writing, thanks for the patience. As always, if you like it, review :D

Please note the slight changes in this chapter and previous. I decided to write out Shipwreck (sorry Shipwreck fans :) ) and change the setting just slightly. I had had something different in mind when I started, but then it turned another direction. Thanks for your patience!

O o o o o o o o o o O

An hour later, feeling much more refreshed after a hot shower, Shana lay on her bed, still wearing her robe and a towel around her damp hair. Allie decided to try and talk again. "This must be pretty expensive."

Shana shrugged, "Not really, everyone chips in and sometimes Da can get a local brewery to donate some booze."

"A family reunion with a corporate sponsor? You people have too big of a family!" Allie shook her head as she laughed. She flopped down next to Shana on the bed, "So. You and Patrick, huh?"

"Not like that," she rolled her eyes, "Get your head out of the gutter. We've kissed a few times but nothing major."

Allie squealed, "You didn't mention kissing! He's a handsome guy, you could do a lot worse than him."

Shana blushed again, "Stop! Seriously." She threw the wet towel at her friend. "Go take a shower and clean out that dirty mind of yours." Jaye grinned and disappeared in the bathroom. As the sounds of water running reached her ears, she also heard a knock at the door. She opened the door, grinning at Patrick when she saw him, "Hey hon. What's up?"

"I just wanted to check in on my favorite redhead and hope I caught her in the shower," he eyed her robe and wet hair, "Unfortunately, it seems my timing stinks." He laughed as she smacked his arm. "Seriously, just wanted to see how you were. We've got a lot of catching up to do."

Shana smiled a little sadly and nodded, "It has been too long. Let me just throw some clothes on and I'll be out, ok?"

"Can I stay and watch?" He winked but stepped back before she could close the door on any appendages.

She grabbed her clothes, then yelled into Allie that she was stepping out. Patrick's arm snaked around her waist and she returned the favor, walking comfortably down to the den. They sat on the couch, Shana snuggling into his body, their familiarity and ease around each other making it just nice and comfortable. "So what have you been doing Patrick?" She was lying with her head on his chest, looking up at him.

"I passed the Bar," he bowed his head to her cheers, grinning, "I'm in a practice here in Atlanta. I really like it right now. I'm doing defense work mostly, but I think I'd like to try my hand at prosecution."

"Congratulations, I'm so proud of you! Any lovely ladies in your life?" She poked him with her finger while speaking.

Now it was his turn to blush, "Not really. No one special. No one can hold a candle to you." He winked, but retained a measure of sincerity.

"Remind me why we never really got together?" She grinned and then there was surprised gasp when he leaned down and kissed her deeply. She sighed when they broke apart.

He sighed in response as well, "Yeah. Me too. Nada."

"No offense, it's just like I'm trying to kiss my brothers in a very wrong way." He snorted and she joined him in laughter. She leaned her head back onto his chest. "It would be a hell of a lot easier if there was something there."

"You sing it sister," a petulant tone came to his voice as he continued, "I already know you, I'm comfortable with you, I can trust you. It's not easy to find that in a woman."

"Or a man for that matter." She smiled sadly, "I think I'm just not the type."

He arched his brow, "The type for what?"

She shrugged a little, "Dating, men, marriage. It's all such bullshit anyway."

Patrick frowned as he stared at her, "That isn't the Shana I knew when we were growing up. You used to strap your dolls to your back when we played army. You made me swear that I'd marry you if no one else would."

"Which you did, need I remind you?" She grinned and shrugged, "Things change. My career is just too much of an obstacle. Maybe when I retire, if I retire, I'll find someone to drive me crazy in my old age."

He coughed, "Drive you crazy? I think it will be the other way around darlin'. And you work in the military and there's not one available man that strikes your fancy?" He eyed her carefully, because he knew her well enough to know that something was going on with her.

"It doesn't matter. Things get in the way," Shana said softly and snuggled more into his arms. "What about you? I can't believe there's no one kicking my ass for hanging on you." She nudged her friend gently.

"Like anyone could. No, I just haven't found the right one yet. No one appreciates me enough."

"Except you," she teased and he lightly tapped her arm.

"Be nice to me or I won't marry you when you're old and gray."

Shana looked up into his eyes and smiled genuinely, "I've missed you, Patrick."

He kissed her forehead in a fatherly gesture, "Me too Shana. Want to rejoin your friends before they decide we've snuck off and eloped?" He winked as he continued, "I bet that big blonde dude would have a stroke if that happened."

Shana sat up and rolled her eyes, "Only because I would be requesting leave for a honeymoon. Trust me. Only business."

"He's an idiot then," sensing the fact that she seemed unhappy about the strictly business nature of her relationship. He stood and offered a hand up, giving it a quick squeeze, "I'll let you get back to them, meet you out by the session later?"

"Definitely." She smiled over her shoulder and walked back upstairs to find Allie.

O o o o o o o o o o o o O

Conrad had gotten into the shower before Wayne, benefit of rank, and decided to go out and check out this legendary party he'd heard so much about. He walked down the stairs and out the front door, amazed at the extent of this gathering. Even more amazing was that most of the people all seemed to know each other. He had never had experience with such a large and extended family circle. He stuck close to the house, not ready to get in the thick of it yet without a guide. He paused at one of the bay windows that adorned the front of the house.

He watched Shana enter with the man he met earlier, their arms around each other. He knew he shouldn't be looking in through the window, but couldn't help himself. He saw her lay down on the couch with the man and his hands unconsciously clenched into tight fists. Before he could turn away, he saw Patrick lean down and kiss Shana and every single muscle in his body was taut with anger, she said there was nothing really going on between them. All this time, she had a relationship back home that she was lying about! He didn't need to stay and watch anything else; he stalked inside, slamming the front door and storming into the room he was sharing with Beach Head.

"Something up, Top?" Wayne frowned, assuming that the cause of the consternation was work-related, "Did we get recalled from leave?"

"No, everything is fine. I want to go have something to drink and I should have someone who can keep me from doing something stupid."

Wayne nodded and smirked as he followed Conrad downstairs and out to the lawn, "Stupid? Like what? Picking up random girls?" Silence greeted that so he tried again, "Picking up a specific girl? Punching out a specific friend?"

Barely leashed fury reared its head as Conrad stopped on the lawn to speak angrily, "There is nothing going on between us!"

"Sure, Top. So why are you pissed off again?"

He stopped, taking a deep breath, Wayne was right, why should he be upset? It's not like he was seeing her; he didn't know why he had such a visceral reaction to seeing him with another man. "Just a long trip and stir crazy," he muttered.

"Yeah right." Wayne muttered back but continued on with his friend to the bar. When they were both set up with a beer, he spoke quietly, "What happened between you two? You used to be close, now it seems like you can barely tolerate each other at times."

Conrad took a swig of beer, "I don't know how things got so screwed up," he said honestly, "and I'm not sure how to fix them." He sighed, "Hell, I know how it got screwed up, I was stupid." Wayne smirked as he drank his beer, letting Conrad continue. "About six months ago, we kissed."

"What?!?" Wayne said loudly, earning a glare from his CO and he lowered his voice again when he continued, "What happened? Did she reject you? Man, that hurts."

Duke sucked air through his teeth, looking down, "No. Other way around." He didn't look up to see the dumbfounded look on Wayne's face. "I was surprised, I was worried about our friendship, about regulations," he said defensively and then shrugged, "I screwed it all up anyway."

"Well no shit she's pissed at you and embarrassed." He couldn't help but chuckle, "And now you're jealous?"

"I'm not jealous," Conrad snapped. "I am upset at when she made a move at me, she was evidently involved with this 'Patrick'." He rolled his eyes, not particularly liking Shana's childhood friend.

"And jealousy doesn't get involved at all," his voice clearly said he didn't believe Conrad.

"I'm not jealous. I have no reason to be jealous, I -" he cut his own words off because he saw the girls approaching. Involuntarily, his neck shaded red and he hunched slightly to not draw attention to it.

"See Shana? I knew we'd find them near the beer!" Allie swung herself onto a seat next to Wayne, making Shana sit next to Conrad. "Be dears and fetch us ladies some drinks?" She batted her eyes at Duke, who rolled his own in response but got up to go get drinks, trying to avoid Shana. Allie turned back to Wayne, "What have you boys been up to?"

"Not nearly as much as you girls apparently," Wayne muttered cryptically, causing both to raise their eyebrows. Before they could say anything, a shrill feminine voice cut them off.

"Wayne? Wayne Sneeden?" All three of them were dumbfounded as an impeccably groomed woman approached them. "Oh my God, it is you! What a coincidence!" She looked at the blank stares greeting her and went on, "Anna Rue? Anna Rue Hiller, we went to school together!"

Realization dawned on Wayne's face and he muttered, "Hitler was more like it," under his breath so only Shana and Allie could hear. He stood and in a normal tone he said, "Good to see you again Anna Rue. I didn't recognize you."

"Oh, I recognized you right away, nothing's changed about you. So, are you working in the factory here in town?" Shana couldn't decide if the woman was being exceptionally rude on purpose or was just clueless. She watched as Wayne's body tensed up. He shook his head slowly, "Oh sorry to hear about that. I'm sure a great job is waiting for you." With nary a pause to let him defend himself, she glanced at his left hand, tsking softly, "Sorry to see you aren't married. I remember back in high school no one would get near you," her false laughter tinkled melodiously. "I think he was the only one who never went to a school dance."

Allie was beginning to get seriously worried about Wayne, she was afraid he was going to have a stroke if his blood pressure rose much more. She knew that his childhood wasn't happy, and this woman was a serious bitch. She decided to put a stop to the woman's mean-spirited prattling. "Honey, aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Honey?" He looked at Allie blankly, who shot him a look that said 'play along'. He cleared his throat, "This is Allie..."

Allie stuck her hand out and shook the mean-spirited woman's hand, "Hello, I'm Allie, his fiancée."

"Fiancée?" Now it was her turn to sound surprised.

Allie smiled happily, slipping her arm around Wayne's waist, "Yes, isn't it fabulous?"

Anna Rue's eyes quickly went down to Allie's hand, "Where's your ring then? Oh," she feigned shock, "I bet Wayne couldn't afford one."

Without missing a beat, Allie continued, with a placid smile on her face, "The setting was a little loose. I don't feel the need to flaunt our wealth around like others do. Sign of insecurity if you ask me." To seal the ruse, she leaned over, planting a kiss square on Wayne's lips. Anna Rue, flustered, made quick farewells and hurried off.

"What in the hell was that? Have I entered some sort of weird alternate dimension where everyone starts kissing the moment my back is turned?" Duke demanded angrily as he returned with drinks, bringing a red flush to each of his team mates.

"Jaye!" Wayne growled, "What in the hell were you thinkin'? I didn't need you to lie for me! I'm not ashamed of my life!"

"I'm sorry, it was just the first thing to come to mind to get her to shut up. I couldn't stand that attitude she had, like so many of the girls I grew up with."

He continued in quiet tones as Shana and Conrad listened on, "Yeah, but now I'm gonna have to keep the act up for this whole damn weekend, else she'll think this was a pathetic ploy I thought up. And I shudder to think what will happen when Dash finds out."

Allie shrugged without concern, "No need for him to find out. It's not like we're really together." Deciding to get the heat off of herself, she turned to Duke, "Who else have you seen kissing today that has you all riled up?" Shana's eyes widened and she kicked Allie hard under the table. "Ow!" She glared at Shana.

Duke's face was unreadable. "No one. I was just shocked to see you and Wayne going at it. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to take a walk." He stood up and walked away.

Shana stood up after a moment, debating on whether to follow him. She got about fifteen paces before her wrist was grabbed from behind. She jerked her arm away to see Patrick with his hands up in a sign of surrender, "Hey darlin' sorry for scaring you. What's wrong?"

She ran a hand through her hair, looking towards where Conrad had stalked off, "Oh, I think my CO saw us earlier and got the wrong impression."

Patrick arched a brow, "And why would that matter? I thought it was strictly business between the two of you," his eyes twinkled playfully at her.

"Shut up." She slapped his arm. "You are such a liar. You know when I'm lying so don't even try and pretend you don't."

He guffawed, "So now I'm in trouble because you were lying? Shana Shana Shana," he slung an arm around her shoulders, "you, my dear, have a very twisted mind as to who is right and wrong. You should know by now that I'm always right." She couldn't help but giggle at that, "And I say let him go. Maybe the touch with jealousy will set him straight. He's insane if he would let a catch like you slip away."

"Now you're just flattering me, and you know what they say..."

"That it will get me everywhere?" he said hopefully.

"You're just trying to get me to set you up with one of the other girls on the team," she said, laughing.

He shrugged with a grin, "I wouldn't object." She just shook her head and returned with Patrick to the still fighting Allie and Wayne.


	4. Drinking Games

Go back and read this from the start ;) I changed some things around. I decided to go in a slightly different direction :D

O o o o o o o o o o o O

Shana, Patrick, Allie and Wayne were trying to enjoy themselves, sitting at a picnic table, drinking Guinness. Shana was actually surprised that Wayne was being tolerable; she wondered what Hawk had threatened him with if he wasn't. After a while, she looked at the group and said, "How about rotating around a little? See the neighbors' houses?"

Wayne frowned, "Shouldn't we wait for Conrad?"

Shana rolled her eyes, "He's a big boy; he can take care of himself. We'll be back, there are just other people I want to talk to and I can't wait forever for him to stop pouting." Wayne grumbled and Allie smirked as they all stood up. Patrick slid his arm around Shana's waist again and she whispered to him, "Now you're just doing it on purpose." She gave him a mock-disapproving look.

"I don't see you stopping me," he whispered back and then grunted as she elbowed him, but didn't step away.

For the next two hours, Shana was busy introducing Allie and Wayne to all of her closest friends and relatives from home. She started a drinking game that whenever one of the people they were talking to turned up to be a relative of Shana's, they had to drink. Two drinks if Shana didn't know that they were related. Needless to say, it didn't take very long for them to get fairly drunk, despite their high tolerances. Wayne stayed out of the game, claiming that he had to keep the rest of them out of trouble.

Patrick started to steer the group back towards Shana's house, a little concerned about his friend. She seemed down and he knew that as much as she denied it, something was going on with her and the blonde guy she worked with. Wayne was a decent enough person, though a bit dry. He was busy trying to discuss a program they had both watched on the History Channel, when he heard a muttered curse coming from the redhead on his arm. "What was that for?"

She didn't say anything, just looked pointedly towards their oak tree where Patrick soon saw Conrad chatting with an attractive blonde woman. "Now, why would that upset you, my dear?" His voice was sickeningly sweet, taunting her.

"Shove it Grady," she grumbled. Allie was laughing enthusiastically on Wayne's arm, who was trying to bear it patiently. She struggled to focus her eyes in the deepening dark on another target, "Shit shit shit." Everyone looked at her oddly and she wiggled out of Patrick's grasp, striding over to a group gathered by a tiki torch.

"Hey sis!" Sean grabbed his sister and swung her around once.

"Easy there Sean," she chuckled nervously, "I don't want to share my liquor with you."

"Oops!" Everyone laughed and he set her down gingerly. "Everyone, this is my baby sister, Shana. Shana, this is everyone and this is my oh-so-significant other, Anna Rue."

Most of the group nodded politely, but the reason Shana had come over said icily, "We've met." Anna Rue slipped her hand into Sean's and Shana had to restrain herself from saying something completely rude.

"Something going on that I should know about?" He looked between his sister and his girlfriend and arched a brow.

"No, Shana's just had too much to drink." Patrick had finally caught up, Wayne and Allie in tow. "Don't mind her." He didn't want to encourage Shana at all when she was like this, knowing how she could really spoil for a fight.

Anna Rue just smiled sweetly, "Oh no honey, it's all fine." She kissed him, pissing Shana off immensely.

"Excuse us." Shana grabbed her brother's arm and forcibly dragged him away from the group. "What are you doing with that harpy?"

He raised his eyebrows again, "That harpy is my girlfriend and might end up being your sister, Shana."

Her eyes widened, "Do not tell me that. Sean! You deserve so much better than that," she was practically begging him.

"I don't want to hear it, Shana. You never like my girlfriends, so just back off. We'll talk when you're sober, ok?" With that, he walked back to Anna Rue, leaving Shana alone to fume.

O o o o o o o o o o O

While Shana and Sean were having their powwow, the rest of the group waited in strained silence. Wayne tried to keep his attention on Allie, Patrick was watching Shana with concern and Anna Rue was staring at the remaining couple. "So are you two staying at the house too?"

"Too?" He echoed, "You're staying here?"

She nodded smugly, "I don't live in town and Mr. O'Hara was kind enough to invite me to stay."

Wayne swore under his breath, he wondered how exactly he was going to deal with having to keep this charade up constantly for the whole weekend. "Well, we're staying here too. It will be...great... to be able to see you so much." They weren't fooling anyone with their forced friendliness, though several of the observers did find it distinctly amusing.

She looked over at Allie disparagingly, "Looks like your date is about done in, you should probably return her to wherever you found her."

Allie straightened up suddenly, aware that her personal honor had been attacked. Wayne tried to hold her back, unsuccessfully. Allie's voice was low and threatening, shielding her words from most of the group, "Do you know the name Hart-Burnett?" She was pleased when she saw fearful recognition in the woman's eyes. "I thought you would, you society wanna-be. Classless pig, keep that in mind the next time you open your mouth. I am not some whore from the gutter, which is more than I can say of you. Watch. Your. Step."

Wayne had to struggle to not laugh as Allie threatened Anna Rue. It may have been wrong, but he was enjoying the dressing down of one of his biggest tormentors from high school. "Come on sweetheart, let's go to bed, don't let the likes of her upset you." He took Allie around the waist and guided her towards the house as Sean and Shana were rejoining the group, Anna Rue still looking shocked.

"What was that all about?" Sean demanded, looking at Shana like she could provide the explanation.

"Shana's friends just wanted to head up to bed I think." Patrick stepped in quickly, reading the tense situation between sister and brother and wanting to just smooth it over for now. Sean accepted the explanation with a grunt and Patrick politely excused himself and Shana, steering her over to a table. "Want some coffee?"

"Nah, that would kill my buzz." She closed her eyes to slits, just barely watching Conrad still talking with the blonde. "What in the world could they have in common? Besides hair color?" Shana was pouting with her eyes still mostly closed.

Patrick didn't say anything, just rubbed her leg reassuringly. They stayed like that for a while, relaxing. He was surprised as suddenly Wayne reappeared, with Conrad in tow. "Allie is in our room," Wayne said, gesturing between himself and Conrad.

Shana snorted laughter, "She's taking this seriously, isn't she?"

Wayne smirked in spite of himself, "You should have seen her rip into Anna. I wish I had a camera."

"So where are you going to sleep Conrad?" She swung her eyes to her CO, "Staying the night with that blonde?"

Patrick cut in, trying to halt Shana's jealousy from showing too much, "How about Conrad take Shana's room? She can just come home with me."

Conrad's face set into an angry line, "No. She's drunk, and so are you."

"And you don't trust me," his expression showed his amusement at this concept.

Conrad folded his arms, "I'm just looking out for my men and women. You shouldn't be driving."

Wayne broke in trying to cut the sniping off, "Conrad, sleep in your bed. I'll sleep on the floor in our room. Shana sleep in your bed." As the only fully sober one among the group, his words held a lot of weight.

Shana nodded grudgingly, "Fine. Come on Patrick, I'll find you someplace to sleep here. He's right about one thing, you shouldn't drive." She took her friend by the hand and led him back to her house.

O o o o o o o o o o O

Conrad and Wayne waited for a little while, then when Patrick didn't return, Wayne shrugged, "She must have found someplace for him to crash." Conrad nodded tersely and Wayne frowned, getting a couple beers and dragging his CO over to a quiet corner of the yard, glaring at Duke, "You are making everyone miserable."

Conrad arched a brow in a questioning manner, "Excuse me?"

"You're miserable. Shana's miserable."

Conrad interrupted sullenly, "She doesn't seem very miserable to me."

"Shana's miserable," Wayne repeated pedantically, "and now you're making me miserable. Allie's the only one having a good time I think," he mused.

"How do you figure?"

"I don't want to be your Goddamned shrink, but I'll be damned if I have to put up with the two of you for the rest of the weekend behaving like this." Conrad looked shocked at Wayne's words.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

Wayne rolled his eyes and took a long swig of his beer, "She's trying to make you jealous, you're trying to make her jealous, you're both jealous, it worked, congratulations." He shook his head, "This is why women don't belong on the team."

"I'm not trying to make her jealous!" Conrad protested angrily.

Wayne gave him a hard look, "So, you are really interested in that blonde?"

He sputtered defensively, "She's nice."

"And not your type." Wayne smirked, "I know you like redheads."

"I do not!" Conrad tried denying it, but caved at the look Wayne shot him when he said that. "Ok. Maybe a little."

Wayne groaned, muttering, "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but tomorrow, just go and talk to her and stop this stupid behavior. You know as well as I do, as much as I hate it, that they turn a blind eye to fraternization as long as it isn't flaunted." He rolled his eyes again, "For God's sake, look at Allie and Dash. And they flaunt it."

Conrad looked at him incredulously, "You are recommending that I ignore regs?"

"Shut up. It's probably the beer. Or an intense desire to have some peace this weekend," he grumbled.

Conrad chuckled, "You surprise me sometimes Wayne. You may actually have a personality hidden in there." Wayne grunted and finished his beer. Conrad finished his own, and they headed up to the room they were now sharing with Allie to get some sleep.


	5. Misunderstatements

A phone was ringing. Wayne assumed it was the phone of the house at first, then realized it was the cell phone next to his head. He grabbed it, pressing a button then speaking, "Hello?" His voice was gravelly after the drinking from night before and he wasn't thrilled at being woken up at 3am; that was early even for him. "Hello?" There was silence on the line, and he grumbled under his breath about all the nights to have a wrong number.

Allie's voice sounded softly, "Who is it?" She was groggy as well, but obviously the phone woke her up as well.

"Wrong number. Go back to sleep." He took the battery out as he laid back down, not wanting to be woken up again. If there was an emergency, they would call on Duke's phone, not his.

O o o o o o o o o o o o O

When morning came, not surprisingly Wayne was the first one awake. He kicked the beds of Allie and Conrad, "Rise and shine sleepyheads. Time to make sure you don't return from this vacation totally out of shape."

"You are kidding me," Allie groaned, "You are not going to make us do PT."

"Get your ass up soldier, you owe me." His voice was hard and left little room for argument. "Coming, Top?"

Conrad was already sitting up, rubbing his face, "Yeah. Just let me get dressed and splash some water on my face." He grabbed his clothes and shaving kit and headed to the door.

"Get Shana's lazy butt up too. If I have to do this, so does she!" Allie smirked, trying to buy herself a little time in her bed. Conrad nodded on his way out, heading down the hallway to where Shana's bedroom was.

The door was open slightly and he knocked lightly, pushing the door open a little more, "Up and at -" The words died in his throat though when he saw Shana lying in her bed, in her 'friend's' arms. He quickly turned and retreated to the bathroom to pretend he didn't see that scene.

When he had shaved and dressed, he headed back to his room; Allie was gone and Wayne was doing light stretches. "Allie's getting her stuff. Where's Shana?"

"She was still sleeping when I went in. I didn't wake her." He tried to keep his manner as even as possible.

"I'll go wake her up then." Wayne got up but Conrad stopped him with a shake of his head.

"She's still in bed. I don't think she wants other men walking in on her. Let Allie deal with it." Wayne looked at Conrad oddly about the way he was phrasing the situation, then figured it out.

"Oh." He coughed uncomfortably, nodding. "Ok. Let's wait downstairs then for Allie." Conrad nodded and they both went down to grab some toast before their jog.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

Allie stumbled into Shana's room, trying to push the hangover away from her brain. She needed aspirin and lots of them. She was startled by the image on the bed, pushing Shana roughly to wake her up, looking between Patrick and her expectantly. She whispered, "Get your PT clothes. Wayne is dragging us on a run. If you have the energy," she quipped, looking at them again.

Shana blushed, pulling back the covers, revealing that she and Patrick both were fully dressed and whispering as well, "Not a word. We're just very close." She gathered her clothes, pulling her hair into a quick ponytail and changing into her PT outfit in her bathroom, then following Allie out of the room and down the stairs to meet the boys.

"Yeah. Dash and I are really close too."

Shana whispered angrily, "Haven't you ever had a male friend that you just feel really comfortable with physically…"

"Yes, Dash."

"No. Not like that. Just friends, no chemistry or anything, just like a giant teddy bear." She sighed as Allie continued looking at her incredulously. "You just don't understand."

"How well did Conrad understand when he visited you this morning?" Allie asked pointedly.

Shana gave her a puzzled look, "What do you mean?" Allie just shook her head sadly and Shana looked defeated, realizing what she meant, "What a mess."

Allie stopped her on the stairway, just before they got to the bottom, "What happened with you two anyway?'

"He doesn't want me," she said simply, keeping her voice steady and face calm.

"Who are you kidding, girl? The man is mad for you."

She shook her head. "He doesn't want to be with me. He told me."

"He did **_what_**???" Allie was nearly shouting and Shana glared at her and shushed her quickly. She continued in a whisper, "You have to have misunderstood."

She shook her head, "No. Trust me, I didn't. I'm lucky that he's letting it just go and not fucking with my career for putting him on the spot."

"What happened?"

"Nothing. Let's get this run over with, ok?" Shana was worried about the guys overhearing their discussion and gave Allie a light push to get her moving.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

"I am never drinking again," Allie moaned after their run had concluded. She had had to make a couple of pit stops to yawn in Technicolor, and she was fairly certain Wayne was very happy about that.

"Good," Wayne said, his voice smug. "And maybe this will teach you about making up stories."

"So why are we getting punished?" Shana said, motioning to Conrad and herself, leaning against her house, catching her breath. She had managed to not throw up yet but she wasn't feeling much better than Allie.

"You figure it out." He glared at them each in turn and returned to the house to rustle up some breakfast.

Shana and Conrad looked guiltily at each other, then looked away. He knew he told Wayne that he would talk to her, but that was before he found her in bed with Patrick. She was obviously not crying over spilt milk and didn't need him making things more complicated.

Allie just watched the moment her friends exchanged, shaking her head. "I'm going to go shower. See you down at breakfast."

The two remaining Joes looked at each other, both having so many things they wanted to say but neither having the balls to say anything. Shana finally cleared her throat, "I better go wake Patrick up." Conrad pursed his lips and nodded. She cocked her head to the side and looked at him carefully, "Why don't you like him?"

"Who said I didn't like him?" He was trying his hardest to sound casual and unconcerned. She stared at him, her blue eyes piercing into his chest with an almost tangible power. "I don't know. Something seems off."

She looked at him curiously, trying to gauge what was really bothering him. Was it possible that Allie was right and he was jealous? "Last night…We, Patrick and I-"

He held a hand up, giving a shrug, "You don't have to explain to me. I'm not your father."

Now she looked somewhat annoyed, "You're doing a good impression of him, except _he_ likes Patrick."

"I don't have any say in what you do on your personal time." He grumbled quietly.

She gave him a pointed look, "No, you don't. You didn't want to have any say, remember?" Her tone was perhaps a little harsher than she intended, but she was getting annoyed with him wanting it both ways; not seeing him, but also not seeing anyone else.

He winced slightly at the truth in her words, knowing she was getting on roll, and if he didn't do some quick repair work, things would explode. "Look, about that -"

She shook her head, cutting him off quickly, "I don't want to talk about it. It was bad enough the first time. I'll see you at breakfast." With a flip of her ponytail, she jogged back to her house.

"Shit," Conrad muttered to himself, "I've gotten myself in deep now." Heaving a sigh, he followed the red head at a safe distance, trying to think of how he could mend the breech between him and Shana.


	6. Limericks and Love

Wow. Update. Can I say that grad school is kicking my ass? Well, it is. I love it, but damn. So. This update has been a while in a making and I just finished it and hopefully it's been worth waiting for. Enjoy 

X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x X

Flint paced around his room like an angry panther. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he shouldn't be jumping to conclusions, but he and Allie had not parted on the best of terms and why the hell was _Wayne_ answering her phone in the middle of the night? He called the number again, hoping perhaps he had hit the wrong speed dial button. This time it went directly to voicemail.

He paced a little more before stealing a look at the clock; nearly five A.M. and time for him to go on duty. Great, he'd wasted two hours obsessing over this. He threw on his uniform and exited his room to report for duty.

The tension was obvious on the Warrant Officer's face and body as he entered the control room but no one commented as he went and sat down at a station, flipping through reports intently. Flint was determined that he wouldn't let this control his life; that would be giving too much credibility to a simple mix-up. As he continued through the day, he became sure in his own mind that it was an easily explained situation. Wayne had probably grabbed her phone on accident and as for hearing her voice - maybe they were all sharing a room. That didn't mean anything; they'd all shared quarters before without worries.

By lunchtime, he was through his pile of paperwork and reports and was feeling much better about the aborted call to Jaye the night before. He also hadn't called her again though. Some part of him was afraid to ruin the carefully constructed explanation for everything, so it was easier to not call.

Shortly after fifteen hundred hours, he got a summons to Hawk's office. Hawk was sitting with Snake Eyes, their conversation silent between them, but the door was open. "You called for me, sir?" Flint called into the room, being polite to not watch the conversation.

"Come on in, son. Have a seat." Flint eyed Hawk warily as he spoke, then entered the room and sat down. Hawk had a twinkle in his eye, one that never meant anything good. Worse, the ninja beside him almost seemed to have an amused posture. Snake Eyes amused was definitely bad news. Hawk ended his misery quickly, "I have some good news and some bad news for you."

Flint narrowed his eyes, not sure what was so amusing about that. "Ok…" He looked expectantly to the two men sitting in front of him. "What's the bad news?"

"You're going on assignment. We have a report of Cobra activity." Hawk still had the contained mirth dancing in his eyes and Flint thought for a moment that Snake Eyes had let out a chuckle. Flint made a motion with his hand to indicate to Hawk to go on. "It's in Atlanta. We'd really hate to pull everyone on furlough. But we also can't just ignore it, the report came from a very credible source. If you find anything, notify the team down there. If not, report to Shana's house and debrief your teammates."

Flint rolled his eyes, "I don't have to go." He couldn't decide whether to be touched that this was being done, or pissed off because they were meddling.

Hawk held up his hands in an innocent pose, "Someone does, and I want Beach Head to enjoy his vacation for once." Flint's jaw clenched subconsciously at that comment. "You're the most logical choice, since Snake Eyes turned the job down."

'_Too hot there for ninjas,_' Snake Eyes signed solemnly.

Flint stood up, "Fine. Where's the file? When do I leave?"

Hawk checked his watch, "Thirty minutes, so you better move. You'll be given the file en route." Flint shook his head, still feeling this was a set up of some sort, and not the fun kind of set up that involved grenades and small arms fire. He stood and hustled out of the office to get his things ready.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

"Well good morning, Wayne," Anna Rue's voice was dripping with false cheer. Wayne grunted in reply, instead focusing on eating his food. She made a sad face, "Did your date not feel well this morning? She looked so awful coming back from that run." She paused then said under her voice, "At least though she had the decency to shower before eating."

Shana was the fastest one to take offense to that, "Excuse me _miss_," Shana's voice was biting but overly polite, the way that a good Southern woman can sound when she's good and angry, but would never be so uncouth to show it. "I'm so sorry we're all bothering you here in your home. I would think in the face of such rudeness, you would want to leave." The last phrase was said with helping of deliberation, making it clear to Anna Rue that it was a command.

The other woman froze for a moment, with her big syrupy smile still on her face. Shana could tell that she hated to take a command from her, but she had also been clearly cornered in her behavior, if she wanted to keep up her southern lady act. "You're so right, dear. I believe I shall go tend to your brother while you do your," she feigned searching for a word, "What is the word for what you do in the military? Is it grunt work? Well, whatever it is, have fun with it." With an icy glare in her eyes but a smile on her lips, Anna Rue walked out the back door.

Conrad actually had to physically restrain Shana from chasing after the other woman. "I'm going to kill her."

"I don't think that would be very proper, or southern." Conrad said with a smirk.

Shana freed her arm with a tug. "I don't give a shit, that woman gets on every nerve I have and I cannot let her just get away with that."

It was Wayne who actually spoke up next, "It's not your choice to make." Conrad and Shana both looked at him and he continued, "She's always been like that, she'll always be like that and it's your brother's choice to make to include her in your family."

Shana opened her mouth to protest, and then closed it again with a sigh. "It is, isn't it." She glared at Wayne, "How is it that you got smart about these things?"

Wayne just smirked and shrugged as he began cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast. "Go, hit the showers. We have plans today." Shana gave Wayne a bewildered look, but headed upstairs to shower and change, with Conrad not far behind.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

Flint sat in the seat of the jet, finally getting a chance to look at the file he'd been given. He broke the seal on it as the plane took off, opening it carefully.

There were no photos, just a few handwritten notes. He smirked when he read the first one:

"_I think there is 'Cobra Activity' in Atlanta, Georgia. I think someone should investigate. Source: Snake Eyes"_

The smirk grew into full out laughter when he read the other note:

"_There once was a Joe at the base_

_Yelling in everyone's face_

_His lady he missed_

_Nowhe's acting all pissed_

_So we're getting him out of this place."_

He shook his head as he laughed, oddly touched by the gesture. He definitely would have to get back at Snake Eyes somehow though; bad poetry could not go unpunished.

Flint settled back into his seat, trying to be patient for the duration of the flight. He would see Jaye soon and he would apologize for being an ass before she left and let her know that Wayne had her phone.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

"Mini-golf?" Allie said incredulously. "You're taking us out to play mini-golf?"

"It is a fine sport involving geometry, physics and strategy," Wayne maintained staunchly. Conrad and Shana were laughing too hard to give their own comments in the back seat. "Just because you never were serious about it, doesn't mean it can't be a serious sport."

"Yes it does. You're hitting a little ball through a windmill!"

"And the timing it takes to successfully get it through that windmill? Or up and down the hills? It's a unique opportunity for fine control that's rarely seen in sports." He looked over at Allie, "Have you ever gotten eighteen holes in one during a game?"

"Of course not, but-" She began.

"Then it is clearly something that challenges you and so until you can do such a thing, do not say it is an easy or nothing sport." His tone had an air of finality and Allie quit while she was ahead, not wanting to provoke him further.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

Dash arrived at the airport and found a car had been rented for him, complete with directions for where he was going. It didn't take him long to get to Shana's house, parking on the street across from the address.

He rang the bell, standing up straighter when he saw the older man open the door. "I'm sorry. We've already found God." The door began to close again and Dash realized that the elder O'Hara thought he was a Jehovah's Witness.

"Sir, I'm a friend of Shana's," he spoke quickly before the door was totally shut. It paused and then opened again slightly.

The white haired main looked at him suspiciously, "I didn't know any more were coming." He had vague ideas of what his daughter did and knew that it was possible that this could be an enemy, just as easily as a friend. "What's your name, so I can ask her?"

"Dashiell Faireborn, sir. I can show you some ID if you would like."

Patrick shook his head and then shut the door after motioning for Dash to wait for a moment. He took the phone and dialed his daughter's number. She answered on the second ring. "Shana dear, were you expecting any other friends from work?"

She responded with questions and he answered, giving a description of Dash and his name. She spoke for a few moments then they said goodbye. He went back to the door, opening it and offering his hand to the bemused man on the porch. "Sorry about that, young man. Can't be too careful this day and age. I'm Patrick O'Hara."

"No you can't," Flint said with a grin as he shook the man's hand and entered the home.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

Conrad, Shana, Allie and Wayne were on their third round of mini-golf. Conrad and Shana were both rather quiet and their minds weren't in the game, but Allie was taking this seriously. This was the tiebreaker round. Wayne had won easily the first game. She demanded a rematch and managed to eke out a win that time. Now was the final round, do or die and she would be damned if she let Wayne win.

Wayne for his part, didn't care very much, he knew he had already won because Allie was taking the game seriously. Plus he had just needed to get out of Shana's house and away from Anna Rue for a while. This was proving to be a pleasant distraction.

On the eighth hole, Shana's phone rang. Allie glared at her friend for disturbing her swing. Shana shrugged and answered it. "Hello?" She listened to her father on the other end of the line for a moment, an alarmed expression appearing on her face. "No. We're the only ones. Don't open the door. What does he say his name is?"

Conrad of course immediately noticed the difference in posture and leaned in, frowning. He had been enjoying the day himself. It was one without work or Patrick and although things were still tense between him and Shana, he just liked having a less stressful atmosphere to enjoy her company. He mouthed, '_Is there a problem?'_ She nodded and whispered "Call Hawk, now."

Conrad hit the speed dial on his phone to take him back to base. He exchanged a few quick words with his commanding officer and then gave a thumbs-up sign to Shana.

She visibly relaxed when he did that, returning her attention to the phone. "It's ok Dad. He's just a straggler apparently. Sorry to spring it on you. I didn't know myself." She exchanged goodbyes with her father and hung up.

Allie and Wayne were far too engrossed in the game to notice what had occurred with Shana and Conrad. Shana loudly cleared her throat. "Guess who just showed up on my Dad's doorstep?" Her two other teammates immediately gave her their attention. "Dash." She smirked at Allie as she spoke.

A grin broke out on Allie's face too, "God help me, I love that idiot." The happy expression soon turned to alarm though. "Oh shit! Anna Rue!" She immediately started walking towards the parking lot, "I forfeit. We have to get back before things get all screwed up."

Wayne gave her a sidelong glance, "Oh, so it's not screwed up when it's _my_ personal life you're meddling with?"

"What personal life?" Shana couldn't help but interject that. She was rewarded with a glare from the drill sergeant.

"I'll fix it, I promise. But come on. Dash. Anna Rue. Alone in a house." She pleaded with Wayne, who was still standing resolutely at the last hole.

"Fine. But you better make it clear that none of this was my idea to Dash. I don't want him on my ass for this." Wayne began following Allie towards the exit and Conrad and Shana stood up to follow as well.

"The two of them argue so much, it's almost like they _were_ dating," Shana whispered in Conrad's ear.

He smiled in return, "Come on, we better hurry up or we'll get left behind."


	7. Waiting

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Dash said respectfully as he entered the house.

"All mine, my boy. I always love to meet the people Shana spends so much time with." The elder O'Hara led Dash through the foyer towards the kitchen. "You kids are staying upstairs." He gave an apologetic smile to the younger man, "I am sorry, I'm going to have to be a terrible host for a while. My boys and I have to get some preparations finished before things start going tonight."

"I could help you, sir," Dash offered. "I'm not averse to hard labor."

Patrick laughed, "Thank you, son. But me and the boys can take care of it. I bet you would like to get cleaned up and maybe rest before tonight as well," he said knowingly. "Anna Rue and possibly others will be floating through here as well, so please feel free to make yourself at home." They arrived in the kitchen, with a chestnut-haired woman sitting at the table, flipping through the pages of a magazine. "This here is Anna Rue, she's my boy Sean's girlfriend."

Anna Rue stood up with a smile and held her hand out daintily to Dash to shake. "Nice to meet you, I'm Anna Rue Hiller."

"I'm Dashiell Fairborn. The pleasure is mine," he said smoothly. "I work with Shana."

"I figured." Her eyes went up and down the length of his body, bringing attention to the fact he was still wearing his uniform. Dash shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. Normally he was all about being checked out, but he felt more like a fish who was getting sized up by a shark.

"Do you mind showing him around the house, Anna Rue? I need to get out with the boys to talk some people into refills." Patrick asked, and when she nodded, he called out, "Sean and Brian, we're going. Now."

In short order, Shana's brothers arrived in the kitchen, giving quick introductions to Dash, and Sean with a quick kiss to Anna, then following their father out of the house. Dash found himself alone with Anna Rue.

"Come on, I'll show you where your people are staying." She gestured for him to follow her up the stairs. "It's going to be a little tight. You'll have to share a bed with one of the guys." She laughed, "Don't ask, don't tell, right?"

Dash smirked, "I can sleep on the floor if needed."

"Oh yes, I'm sure you've gotten to sleep on lots of floors." Dash was shocked by the depth of her shallowness. "You don't look like you would have this kind of job," she continued. "You look….well brought up."

Dash couldn't even begin to think where he could address that statement, so he just let it go without a word. They arrived to a bedroom and Anna Rue opened the door, showing two double beds, and familiar military duffels neatly arranged in a line.

She pointed to the bed on the right, "Wayne and his girl have the one on the left, the blonde one, the right. Shana's in her room."

As Dash put his bag down, near the others, the meaning of the words she said sunk in. "Allie….?" He said her name as a question, hoping that perhaps she was staying in Shana's room.

"Yes, that's her name. Allie." Anna Rue nodded in confirmation that Allie was Wayne's girlfriend. She noted the flash of anger in his eyes. "Didn't know she was coming? Oops, did I spoil a surprise?" She sounded anything but sorry. "Do you two not get along?"

"Not lately," he said quietly with anger that hovered just below the surface.

"Well. This will be…interesting." Anna Rue smirked. "I'll leave you to change and get cleaned up. If you need anything, I'll be downstairs."

Dash watched her, dumbfounded, as she exited the room. _'This doesn't make sense,'_ Dash thought to himself. _'Allie wasn't that mad at me. And…Wayne? Really. Wayne?'_ He took a deep breath as he gathered supplies for a shower. There had to be a logical explanation for this. Unless he had stepped into the Twilight Zone, he couldn't really believe that Allie had left him for Wayne.

O o o o o o o o o O

Allie burst through the door from the garage, looking around franticly. She heard the shower running upstairs and groaned, "He's here already," she muttered to herself.

"It's going to be fine," Wayne said softly to her, putting his hand on the small of her back, leading her further into the house.

Inwardly, Allie cringed; Wayne didn't know Dash like she did. He didn't know that he could be irrational when he was jealous. She supposed though the fact he was showering was a good sign; it meant he wasn't pacing or waiting.

"In here," Anna Rue called from the kitchen. Momentarily, all four Joes were in the kitchen with her, "Your straggler arrived. He's getting cleaned up." She feigned disinterest, but out of the corner of her eye, she was watching carefully the reaction from the people in front of her. She was left unsatisfied as the people in front of her all seemed to have exceptional poker faces.

Wayne took the lead, "Allie, why don't you and I go upstairs and take a nap before the party?" He again placed his hand on her back to guide her upstairs. Allie looked bewildered for a moment, then nodded and quietly went upstairs with him.

Conrad found himself suddenly alone with the two women and decided to seize the opportunity. "Um. Shana." She looked at him, seeming annoyed. He wasn't sure if it was at him or Anna Rue. Either way, he might as well just do it. "Is there somewhere we could talk?"

Shana cringed. Not only was some harpy digging her claws into Shana's brother, but now Conrad wanted to talk. "Yeah, come with me." She walked out of the house without waiting for him to follow.


	8. Dazed and Confused

AN: I know, I'm taking forever. I've actually had this part written for a while, but was waiting to see if I felt like I needed to write more for this chapter, since it is short. I decided it was fine as is and to go ahead and publish it and not make people wait any more time :)

Thank you for your patience, and I will say that this story has only a couple chapters left I think.

Thanks as well to all the people who have left reviews, and especially the people who have been with me from the start and my long dry spells.

------------------

Conrad didn't say anything as he walked with Shana out into the yard. He really had no idea where he was going, he just knew he needed to be away from the house. There was a small wrought-iron bench by one of the old trees in the yard and he motioned for her to take a seat, then sitting next to her. He cleared his throat nervously before speaking, "Uh, Shana. I..." He stopped and stood up, uneasy.

Shana took a deep breath, looking out over his head to the branches of the tree. This was the one thing she never wanted to have happen, him giving her some pity talk to get her to back off. "Look Conrad, I"m sorry for being bitchy. Can we skip the rest of this talk?"

He paused, examining her face as she avoided looking at him, then sat down beside her, "You know, back in my quarters when we kissed -" A groan from Shana interrupted him.

"I already apologized. Write me up if you want, but stop punish-" Now it was his turn to interrupt, but this time with his mouth on hers. He broke away quickly and she looked at him, bewildered. "What?"

His fingers went to the ends of her hair, gently rubbing them between his fingers. His face was not nervous anymore, just a calm smile on his face. "You know, it's so much easier once it's over with," he said to himself quietly. A look of concern crossing Shana's face caused him to quickly clarify, "Breaking the rules. Once they're broken, there's nothing more to worry about." A faint smile touched the corners of her mouth as he hesitantly moved his hand from her hair to her cheek, brushing the skin there lightly, "I'm sorry."

Her eyes became cautious again, trying to interpret his expression as she leaned back, away from his touch. "why?" There was accusation in her tone, but also curiosity. She still wasn't entirely sure where he was going with this.

"For being an ass." Shana smirked just slightly in agreement with that assessment of his. "And for not realizing that I want you until I already lost you to someone else."

Shana shook her head, annoyed. "You think I slept with Patrick last night." Conrad raised his eyebrows in response. She retorted, "I slept next to him, and we've been doing that since we were little kids. I can't believe I have to explain myself to you." Anger was definitely brewing in her eyes.

"Wait wait." Conrad held his hands up in a symbol of surrender, "You don't. You don't have to explain your relationship with him to me." He sighed in exasperation. "This went a lot smoother in my head. I'm just saying, I'm sorry, I was stupid."

Considering this for a moment, she looked back at him. "What about the regs and rules? Those are still the same."

Conrad nodded, "I think we could figure out a way to work it out, if you wanted." He met her eyes, still showing mistrust of his sincerity, "I think it might be worth trying to find a way to work it out." He noted, relieved, that her eyes softened slightly with that statement.

"How do I know this isn't just because you thought I was out of reach?" Her voice was quiet, but she watched his expression carefully.

"I'm not going to lie, that is what is prompting me to do this." He reached out to hold her hand as he spoke, "But that's because I'm stubborn and denial is a powerful thing." He sighed, "When I saw you kissing him, all I could think was that it should have been me."

A gentle smile crossed Shana's lips, "You're right." She leaned in to kiss him again, taking more time to enjoy the sensation this time. "But, just give me a few moments to process all this, alright?"

"Yeah, of course." Conrad stood, brushing his hand along her jawline, pleased that she leaned into his touch this time. "I'll be at the house." He hesitated, not sure if he should do or say anything else, then decided to quit while he was ahead and walked back to the house, leaving Shana alone with her thoughts.

O o o o o o O

Back in the O'Hara house, things were already heating up. Dash had come out of the shower to find Allie and Wayne sitting on the bed with his duffel, Allie looking miserable. Wrapped only in a towel, he glared at each in turn, "So, you want to tell me what is going on?" His voice started to raise just slightly.

Allie frowned and motioned with her hands to keep the volume down. "Please Dash. Please give me a chance to explain." Wayne just continued to sit there stoicly, pretending this whole thing was not happening.

"Fine," Flint barked back, grabbing a pair of pants and putting them on under his towel, feeling on more even ground once his clothes were on. "Talk."

"You see..." Allie began then stopped, opened her mouth to talk again, closed it.

Wayne held up his hands in the pause, "For the record, I had nothing to do with it." Flint glared at Wayne, then his eyes settled back on Allie to wait.

"Alright. Long story short: Some bitch from Wayne's high school is dating Shana's brother and she was being horrible to Wayne and I might have said he and I were engaged to get a rise out of her." She winced, closing her eyes, waiting for Dash's reaction.

There was silence for a moment, peeking her eyes open to look at her boyfriend's face. She was surprised to see a look of amusement. "And so, let me guess, you've been trying to sell it?" He sighed and rolled his eyes, looking at Wayne.

"I told you man, it was not my idea." Wayne was less defensive now, seeing that the warrant officer was not flipping his lid.

"You're not angry?" Allie was shocked.

Dash crossed over to her, "I was, a little. But then I thought about it in the shower. It just made no sense. No offense meant, Wayne."

"None taken," he muttered.

"Who are you and what have you done with Dashiell?" Allie demanded as she wrapped her arms around him.

His eyes sparkled playfully, "I'm allowed to have a sense of humor every once in a while."

"Hell has frozen over." Allie laughed and kissed him.

"Shit, you can say that again," Wayne muttered under his breath, having glanced out the window and witnessing part of the conversation between Shana and Conrad.

The couple in the room turned to him, speaking in unison, "What?"

Wayne shook his head, "It's nothing," he said, moving away from the window. Curiosity shone from Jaye's eyes, but he closed the curtain and blocked the view with his body. 


End file.
